Nine global icons you didn’t know were high school dropouts

In honour of the school year starting in most UAE institutions today, Kippreport looks back on how much we all hated back-to-school day.

The feeling of going back to school after a long summer break is dreadful; here are some well-known icons that truly did not enjoy school, much more than us, so much so that they even decided to drop out:

The world-famous CEO of Virgin, worth $4.6 billion left school at the age of 16. Speaking out against the university system on his blog numerous times, the billionaire is currently ranked #272 on Forbes’ World’s Billionaires List.

The founder of Tumblr, worth more than $200 million, dropped out of high school at the age of 15. Starting his company in 2007 in his mother’s New York apartment, the entrepreneur’s project is set to sell for $1.1bn.

Thomas Edison

The inventor of items such as the electric light bulb, the motion picture camera and the record player, dropped out of school just three months into formal education. Taught by his mother, Edison ended up a self-made millionaire and received the Congressional gold Medal.

Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin, the signer of the Declaration of Independence, author, scientist and inventor, left school at the age of ten. Working for his father from a young age, Franklin was the 15th of 20 children.

Considered one of the greatest geniuses in history, Albert Einstein dropped out of school at the age of 15. The Nobel Prize-winner even failed his first entrance exam into the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

Walt Disney

One of the most well known names in entertainment, Walt Disney, dropped out of high school when he was 16. The creative guru worked as an ambulance driver in Europe until he found his path in the entertainment industry.

Kirk Kerkorian

The owner of MGM hotel and casinos and large stakes in a number of hotels in Vegas dropped out of school in the eighth grade. Worth $3.3bn, Kerkorian was a boxer and fighter pilot during World War II.

Charles Dickens

Dropping out of school at the age of 12, Dickens worked in a boot-blacking factory, law clerk and court stenographer until he finally worked as a journalist. Supporting his family while his father was in prison for debt, Dickens has now become a world-renowned writer.

Francois Pinault

The third richest man in France dropped out of high school in 1947 to work at his father’s lumber mill as a result of other pupils making fun of him for being poor. Today, Pinault is the majority shareholder of fashion conglomerate PPR, the owner of high-end fashion houses, such as Gucci, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent, and is worth $15bn.